THINK
Nutritional FoundationTherapeutic
How I build clinical & emotional support & manage medications
I only see a psychiatrist who did not provide any assistance with keto but was willing to assist with tapering (and I still had to taper way slower than she suggested) when I was getting more stable. I took mirtazapine, lithium carbonate and Seroquel. We managed to fully remove mirtazapine and Seroquel (I use the latter in tiny portions in turbulent periods in life), and I am for now staying on a small dose of lithium just for safety.
Integration
Lab results I track & supplements I take
I did not do any lab testing. I tracked ketone levels almost constantly in the first 6 months and am now tracking them from time to time when I can afford CKMs; I have a phobia of needles, so unfortunately finger pricking does not work for me.
Nutritional
How I eat, incorporate fasting, & approach macronutrients
It is very easy for me to adhere to the keto diet and the less flexible it is, the easier it is for me :D I am on a near-carnivore keto diet (I include dairy and occasionally nuts), two meals a day and no snacking (in stressful periods I do snack sometimes but I try to get that back under control ASAP). I still have some sweeteners such as diet sodas and chewing gums because I realized that cutting them out is too stressful, and I end up binging on them later, so it's better to have 1 soda a day for me than trying to ban them completely. I tried many times and failed. I try to aim for a 2.5:1 fat to protein ratio, at least 2:1. My net carbs are consistently under 5g per day, so the main problem is trying not to get too much protein, which is sometimes challenging, but now, I at least do lots of strength training so the protein is used better. I track them with ChatGPT, asking it to give me recipes based on what I have in stock and the desired 2.5:1 ratio, or I tell it what I ate and it counts the macros.
Ketosis
Target ketone levels & testing methods
I wore CKMs. I aimed at 1.5 mmol or higher. Sometimes I had great periods when this was always the case, but most often they are rather between 0.5 and 1.5 :(
